Industrial servers carry out various functions that are hard to predict when they are initially assembled and configured. As such, the design of servers usually includes reserved space and interface circuitry in order to accommodate further expansion such a standard product can meet the requirements of most expansion scenarios. In different technical fields, servers fulfill different purposes according to the applications. In order to increase the usage life and maximize usage, it is typical to reserve space in a server for electrical connections and installation of circuit boards having I/O functions, as well as a corresponding openings adapted for the connection bus to expose I/O contacts therefrom.
Typically the backside of a server cabinet has reserved slots for connecting to one side of an integrally formed shielding panel. When an additional circuit board needs to be installed therein to connect to the exposed I/O contacts, the shielding panel can be repeatedly folded back and forth to break it off so as to detach the shielding panel therefrom. However, if the circuit board is subsequently removed, the opening for exposing I/O connectors becomes unprotected and thus requires a shielding member to reduce the influence of electromagnet interference and to help keep dust out.
There are two different kinds of openings that are often used on the backsides of servers. One is formed in a central region of a back panel and the other is adjacently connected to a base panel of the machine cabinet. For servers having relatively thinner cabinets, the opening of the latter construction is generally adopted.
Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1D, a conventional shielding member for shielding an idle slot available for the insertion of PCI card is illustrated. The rectangle-shaped shielding member 1 is composed of a thin strip body 10, a plurality of blocking portions 11 protrudingly-formed along the two long corresponding sides of the body 10, a pressing member 12 bent along the same direction as the long side, the pressing member 12 being further provided with a plurality of protrusions 121 thereon. The shielding member 1 further includes bumps 13 formed respectively on each short side and an operational portion 14 perpendicularly folded up onto the body 10 in an opposite direction of the bumps 13.
In applying the shielding member 1 to shield an opening formed after the removal of an expansion card, first and preferably use both hands to hold two ends of the shielding member 1 from the exterior of the server cabinet, then push the pressing member 12 into the opening (not shown) until it is blocked by a blocking portion 11, and, at the same time, the bump 13 is also fastened to one side of the opening while the operational portion 14 is pushed to abut against the other side of the opening that is fastened with the bump 13, such that the blocking portions 11 and the protrusions 121 restrict the movement of the shielding member 1 towards in or outside of the server, whereas the operational portion 14 and the bumps 13 restrict the movement of the shielding member 1 on the lateral sides or towards the left and right hand sides, thereby fastening the shielding member 1 to the unused opening to protect it from outside contaminants.
While the shielding member can protect the unused opening from outside contaminants, it is necessary to bend or eliminate the shielding members from one long side when the shielding member is used to shield one side of the base panel of a server cabinet. Although the sides thereof are constituted to have a plurality of bumps, the base panel of a server cabinet does not have corresponding positioning structures, adversely affecting the stability after installation.
Also, in that the shielding member is generally constituted to match and cover the opening, when the opening is small, it is possible to install the shielding member with only one hand, but when the opening is big, the installation requires both hands to exert force evenly on both sides to accomplish installation, which is troublesome to apply.
Further, while one may pull the operational portion outward to remove the shielding member, the structure is rather small to be held firmly, and if the length of the operational portion is added, it is likely to protrude from the backside of the server, thereby causing inconvenience in disassembly.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved shielding structure that can be easily and conveniently used for shielding an opening of the backside of a server without difficulty.